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You can tell where a station is
located
from its call sign. Every
country has its own call sign codes.
All UK call signs begin with
a
G
, an
M,
or a
2.
This map shows how outside
England the second character
of a UK call sign D, I, M, W, J or
U identifies where you are.
Intermediate licences in
England have an E after the 2
.
When operating: at an Alternative postal address
/A
can be added to the end of the call sign; at a
temporary location
/P
; when mobile (foot, car or bike)
/M
; Full licensees are allowed Maritime Mobile /MM.
You will sometimes hear Club stations using special
Club Regional Secondary Locators
: X in England,
P in Guernsey, T in the Isle of Man, H in Jersey, N in Northern Ireland, S in Scotland and C in Wales.
D
Call sign prefixes
for England are:
G, M and 2E.
Northern Ireland:
G
I
, M
I
and 2
I
.
Scotland:
GM, MM and 2M.
Wales:
GW, MW and 2W.
Isle of Man:
GD, MD and 2D.
Jersey:
GJ, MJ and 2J and
Guernsey:
GU, MU and 2U.
d
Sounds complicated but you soon get used to it. Call signs starting with M3 or M6 are Foundation
Level licences. Those starting with a 2 are Intermediate licences. All others are now Full licences.
The format is Prefix – Regional Secondary Locator when required – Number – Suffix.
Prefix
Number
Suffix (
two or three letters)
0
AA to ZZ
E
1
AAA
G
D
2
to
M
I
3
2
M
4
(QAA to QZZ
not issued
)
W
5
J
6
to
U
7
8
ZZZ
Regional Secondary Locators when required
(also known as Regional Identifiers)
So
G
3
ABC
would be an English station Full licence.
M
6
ABC
an English Foundation licence.
2
E
0
ABC
an English Intermediate licence.
MM0ABC
and
GM0ABC
would both be Scottish Full
Licences.
Just for interest - Historic Call Sign Series:
Between 1920 and 1939 licences were issued in the G2 to G6, and G8 two letter suffix, and the G2 three letter
suffix, series. i.e. G2AA to G6ZZ, and G8AA to G8ZZ, and G2AAA to G2ZZZ. G3AAA to G3PZZ were issued
between 1946 and 1962; G3RAA to G3ZZZ between 1962 and 1971; G4AAA to G4ZZZ between 1971 and
1985; the G0 series 1985 to 1996; and the M0 series from1996 onwards; G8AAA to G8ZZZ between 1964 and
1981; G6AAA to G6ZZZ (former fast scan TV licences) were re-issued from 1981 to 1983 as normal licenses;
G1AAA to G1ZZZ from 1982 to 1988; G7AAA to G7ZZZ 1988 to 1996. M1AAA to M1ZZZ from 1996 to 2003;
M5AAA to M5ZZZ (5 wpm Morse pass) from 1999 to 2003. 2E0AAA to 2E0ZZZ from 1991 onwards. 2E1AAA
to 2E1ZZZ from 1991 to 2003. M3AAA from 2002 onwards. M6AAA from 2008 onwards. Repeaters and
Special Event Stations are licences with the prefix GB. Suffixes QAA to QZZ are not issued in any series.